Mason Passes Legislation Relieving Property Taxpayers in Zion

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, is fighting high property taxes in her community of Zion, by pushing legislation that ensures the Zion area taxing bodies who abate property tax funds through CEJA (Climate and Equitable Jobs Act) grants are not adversely affected financially in the future. 

“It’s really important that we get this bill pushed through this year. Zion residents and businesses have been facing extremely high property taxes with little economic development for decades now,” said Mason. “We hope that through the CEJA grants and this new tax calculation process, we can stimulate economic development in Zion and provide relief to households and businesses paying high property taxes.”

In 1998, the Zion Nuclear Power Plant was decommissioned. Because of the lingering nuclear waste, the site remains unviable. As a result, the city of Zion suffered greatly: from hundreds of job losses to significant increases in property taxes—which mark some of the highest in the state. For nearly two decades now, taxpayers have been burdened with increasingly expensive property taxes to make up for these economic losses.

When CEJA passed in 2021, Mason secured approximately $16 million annually for the Zion/Benton communities. Around 75% of that grant was to provide property tax relief, with the remainder going toward schools, parks, and other vital resources and services. Yesterday, Mason passed House Bill 598 to address a concern from the taxing bodies and ensure future abatements required by Mason’s legislation would not potentially harm them in future years. 

“It’s very exciting to see legislation I worked so hard on pass in the House, especially when it’s something that will help so many families in my district. I want to thank Mayor McKinney and his team for their tireless work and partnership throughout this process, and to Senator Edly Allen for her support and advocacy in the Senate. We needed this bill to pass quickly so the Zion/Benton communities could see relief this year, and it took all of us working together to make this happen,” said Mason.

House Bill 598 passed the House Tuesday, and now awaits Senate consideration before it can be  signed into law by Governor Pritzker.